


First impressions

by SiwgrGalon



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, Family Discussions, Family Meetings, First Meetings, In-Laws, Kevin kept Connor a kinda secret for far too long, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mentions of homophobia, a bit angsty probably, mcpriceley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-03-21 22:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13750371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SiwgrGalon/pseuds/SiwgrGalon
Summary: Some visits are bigger surprises than others - and hold far, far bigger repercussions than others. Especially those happening on a Sunday.‘Where is he?’Kevin knows full well whom his mother is talking about – he gushed about him in the letter, after all – but he decided to play dumb, just to gauge the situation, and replies with a shrug and a casual: ‘where’s who?’‘Where is your boyfriend? Get him here, he’d better be hearing this as well.'





	1. Chapter 1

It happens on a Sunday. All things of this size happen on a Sunday, it seems. Kevin and Connor are cozied up in bed – again – with breakfast polished off and the dishes abandoned in favor of far more fun activities, when someone knocks on the door. 

At first it sounds like it’s coming from across the hallway, so they think nothing of it. Connor runs his hand up and down Kevin’s side and chest, giggling in some remaining exhilaration as he presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s jawline. 

‘How can you be this energetic again already?’ the other man murmurs, sated. Lazily nuzzling his nose into red hair, Kevin enjoys the goosebumps rising and the muscle bunching up underneath his partner’s soft skin as he dances his fingers up Connor’s spine. 

‘Well, you know what they say,’ comes the airy reply, his partner looking up coyly from beneath his lashes. 

‘An orgasm in the morning really perks you up.’ 

Before Kevin can reply that no, that’s not generally what people say and this is all down to Connor’s sometimes overly energetic personality, there’s another knock; it’s definitely their front door. 

The couple exchange a quizzical look, but Kevin is already half up and getting dressed. Nobody would normally knock on a Sunday, especially not before lunchtime, unless it really was urgent. 

Connor follows his lead somewhat sluggishly, so Kevin gestures for him to stay put. The redhead doesn’t really fight him. 

’No fight from Connor ‘Mister Nosey’ McKinley? So I did tire you out, hm?’ Kevin teases while grabbing a fresh tee from their wardrobe. 

Connor just sticks out his tongue and beckons Kevin over. Another knock, but the young man doesn’t let that deter him. 

‘You’re not getting me back into this bed,’ the former missionary says, but still steps closer. 

Connor covers his heart with his hand and throws his partner a scandalized look, for good measure. 

‘I would never!’ he says, wearing a grin that nearly splits his face in half. 

Oh, he so would, if he could, Kevin knows. Still, he willingly steps even closer, watching as Connor rises on his knees, slinging the duvet around himself to at least try and look somewhat modest. 

‘Just gotta fix your sex hair,’ the redhead murmurs. True to what he says he runs his hands through Kevin’s hair, tongue sticking out between his teeth in concentration. He pets and ruffles and pets some more, until he seems to be satisfied. 

‘There. I messed it up, and now I made you look presentable again.’ 

Then he leans in and kisses Kevin, but not without murmuring ‘you’ve got something on your face’ at the last second. 

Price indulges him for a moment, before gently pushing against Connor’s shoulders as another knock, this time more insistent, sounds through their apartment. The redhead draws back, his eyes twinkling.

‘Pop a mint,’ he says, cheekily, as he lets himself fall backwards into the messy, plush pile they made of their pillows and duvet. 

‘You smell a bit like someone came in your mouth.’ 

‘You’re impossible and a bit disgusting, depending on whom I’m going to face.’ 

Still, Kevin can’t wipe the grin off his face as he regards his boyfriend, sprawled on their bed in all his half-duvet-wrapped glory. 

‘It’s the truth, though,’ Connor replies, stretching for show as much as for comfort. 

‘We were both there… and you love me for it.’ 

‘That I do, yes.’

This time it’s Kevin’s turn stick out his tongue. He adds an eye roll for good measure and flicks his boyfriend’s toes, but he also does as told and grabs a mint from Connor’s dance bag before making to open the door. 

In about 40 seconds he’ll think how good an idea it was to shut the bedroom door behind himself. 

Because when Kevin Price opens the door, he comes face to face with his parents. 

As far as surprises go, this one is somewhere between really, really good and potentially really, really bad. In the tense seconds following their first meeting, Kevin’s thoughts race, his heart beats a thousand miles an hour and he feels himself starting to sweat a little. 

He’s never been this thankful for a mint. Or for following Connor’s advice. 

The young man silently steps to the side, gesturing for his parents to step over the threshold. He’s unsure how to behave around them, but he recognizes the paper in his mother’s hands. It’s that darn letter, the letter he wrote weeks ago and to which he never received a reply, making him think it might not have arrived. 

Or maybe it was worse. 

Maybe coming out like this was a bad idea. Maybe coming out was a horrible idea in itself, but Kevin couldn’t hide this, couldn’t bear to hide Connor, any longer. And with Liam due back from his mission soon, the risk of being found out because Jack - Kevin’s confidante through all of this - can’t keep his mouth shut was far too big. 

So he wrote this gosh darn letter, with patient help and advice courtesy of one Connor McKinley (who’d doubted himself throughout the process but still did his best). Kevin remembers it as if it had been yesterday, how they had sat on their kitchen table - one of them writing, the other one looking over his shoulder and commenting on every little detail. 

‘“Dear mother and father” - oh my gosh, nobody writes like this, Kevin!’ 

‘Well, what should I say instead?’

‘How about “Dear mom and dad”? Or whatever you call your parents?’ 

Kevin had sighed and rolled his eyes and nearly given up there and then, had it not been for the cajoling of his redheaded companion. 

The other man had later read out the letter, too, for one last check before everything got super serious. Despite his running commentary, the pitch and tone of his voice had made it clear that yes, Connor was taking this very seriously. 

‘It’s beautiful.’ Connor had finally said, carefully handing the letter back as if it was one of the world’s most precious stones. 

‘Very honest. Very open. It’s good.’ 

Kevin had blushed, thinking back to how long it took them to get here. The little pile of discarded drafts spoke for itself, but he knew Connor was too polite to bring it up. 

‘They might still throw me out and disown me, though.’ 

At that, the other man had sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

‘They might, yes. I wish I could tell you that everything will be fine, and that this’ll bring you closer together, but that’d be unfair and potentially cruel,’ he replied. Silence lingers for the briefest of moments before he reaches out, clasping Kevin’s free hand in his own. 

‘Are you sure you’re ready, sweetie?’ 

Kevin just nods, the fear of what might happen consuming him. Everything’s a blur, but he knows Connor is being supportive rather than trying to talk his partner out of it, at least until Kevin makes it abundantly clear that no, there is no way around this and yes, he needs to come out, and do it now.

That’s when the other man shuts up and hugs him, drawing Kevin in well close. He cups the back of his head while his other arm slings around Kevin’s middle and just holds him, and in turn Kevin wraps his arms around Connor and squeezes him tight. The young man doesn’t realize he’s shaking until his partner presses a kiss to his temple and murmurs little reassurances into his ear, slowly putting him at least a little at ease. 

He posts the letter the next day. 

Coming out like this felt like the only way to do it for Kevin. Write it, seal it, pop it in the mailbox and wait. For what he didn’t know - an answering letter? An enraged phone call? A supportive call, maybe? 

It had been an excruciating few weeks, and Jack with his abysmal spy skills had really not been of much help. 

Yet Kevin never expected, not even in his wildest dreams, for his parents to travel this far. 

‘We need to talk,’ his mother says. Her voice leaves no indication of her mood, and neither does her face. Her brow is wrinkled, yes, but this is not her angry face. It’s more a look of deep concentration. Mr Price doesn’t look much different; if anything, he looks even more neutral, as if he is carefully schooling his features into a poker face. 

‘Where is he?’ 

Kevin knows full well whom his mother is talking about – he gushed about him in the letter, after all – but he decided to play dumb, just to gauge the situation, and replies with a shrug and a casual: ‘where’s who?’ 

‘Where is your boyfriend? Get him here, he’d better be hearing this as well,’ Mrs Price says, her voice tense as she shoots Kevin a look that leaves no argument before looking around as if searching something. No, some _one_. Behind her, his father crosses his arms and just nods. 

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Kevin croaks out a ‘give me five minutes’ and makes for the bedroom. He doesn’t really slam the door shut behind him, but he lets himself drop against it before erupting into downright hysteric laughter as the mild panic inside his heart surfaces. 

Connor, who seems to have been in the middle of starting to dress himself, looks on in concern. 

‘Are you okay?’ 

It’s a void question, and one that just sends Kevin into more hysterics before he can catch himself. 

‘Okay, this is potentially very, very, _very_ bad,’ he breathes. Connor tilts his head to the side, still looking confused. 

‘What is? Who is it? What’s going on?’ 

‘Behind this door,’ at that point Kevin takes a deep breath, 

‘Behind this door are, get this, my parents. Oh shit, Connor, they’ve come to, I don’t know, disown me, force me to give up my name, tell me how awful I am and how we’re going to go to hell.’ 

‘What?’ 

Kevin just nods. He’s trying to sort out his racing thoughts, when Connor grasps his hands. 

‘Hey, take a deep breath,’ the other man murmurs. Kevin follows the advice, just breathing along with his considerably more composed boyfriend, and feels himself calming down. Across from him, Connor looks as much confused as he looks concerned. 

‘Right, so, from the start,’ he says, carefully. 

‘Your parents are here?’ 

A nod is all Kevin musters up. 

‘Right, okay. And they didn’t say what they want, right?’ 

‘Nope,’ Kevin says. 

‘Only that we need to talk. And they asked for you.’ 

Connor takes a deep breath, then, loosening their hands to run one of them through his hair. He looks conflicted, his earlier cheek and bravado seeping out of the room at record speed. 

‘Okay. Let me get dressed, and we’ll do this,’ the redhead says, already fishing for a pair of jeans. Kevin watches him in silence, worrying his lip between his teeth and knotting his fingers together. 

‘I’m scared,’ he bursts out, averting his eyes. He should be proud, shouldn’t he? Out and proud, something like that. He shouldn’t be terrified of what’ll happen once they step through this door, of what his parents will say, or how they’ll treat him. Or Connor. The mere thought of how things could go wrong when his mom - and his dad, too - see Connor and decide they hate him for ‘corrupting’ their son sends another wave of fear through Kevin’s body. 

‘So am I,’ Connor says, stepping even closer. He’s well into Kevin’s personal space by now; his eyes are clouded over with something Kevin can’t quite place. It’s not an expression Connor wears frequently and if Kevin is fully honest with himself, he can’t remember the last time he saw it. He probably doesn’t want to remember. 

‘Scared doesn’t cut it, actually. I’m terrified,’ the redhead continues. ‘Worried. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen, and no matter how much I want to, I can’t protect you against the horrible, horrible scenarios in my head. I can’t protect you against anything here. And I’m terrified you’ll hate me for it… that you’ll blame me for anything that might happen or be said, and that you won’t love me anymore afterwards.’ 

‘No, Connor, I could never!’ 

‘Don’t say that,’ the redhead replies. He gently grasps Kevin’s hands, linking their fingers, and briefly looks down at the floor before meeting the other boy’s eyes again. 

‘Don’t promise things you might not be able to keep. Because in reality… in realistic terms, your parents are still Mormon, and we’ve both seen how coming out to Mormons can work out. Don’t say you won’t hate me, or you won’t stop loving me, until you’ve seen what they want or say or do. 

‘Because darling, I love you with all my heart, but if your parents were to… disown you, throw you out, or sever all ties with you, then I couldn’t hold it against you if you hate me and don’t ever want to see my face again. I get it, Kev, and even though it would break my heart, I would understand.’ 

With that Connor loosens their fingers and makes to dig for a shirt. Stunned into silence for a second, Kevin watches while his mind processes what he just heard. 

‘Would you have hated me if I was the reason your parents essentially abandoned you?’ 

The sentence, spoken so quietly, makes the other man stop in his tracks. Kevin feels a different kind of fear spread through his heart as he expects Connor’s answer. 

‘Well,’ he says, and for the first time in forever, Connor is actually unreadable for the former missionary. The way he pauses makes Kevin fidget, afraid of what he’s about to learn. 

‘Very strictly speaking you kinda are the reason,’ Connor continues, ‘but I think we both are very aware of the fact that I don’t hate you. And no, I also don’t hold a grudge, or anything, because my parents being awful people has nothing to do with you, and it’s not something you could have had an influence in. If anything, it made me love you more, really. 

‘But this is as much about reassuring myself, as selfish as it is, because you’re the one person who could shatter my heart with a single word.’ 

He pulls his shirt over his head, then, and once he’s pulled it down has not even a second before Kevin launches himself at him, hugging the redhead close. His arms come up to hug him back almost automatically. 

‘You idiot,’ the younger man mumbles into his neck. 

‘Don’t ever scare me like that, especially not when it’s already terrifying.’ 

Connor’s chuckle rocks them both. His arms, slung loosely around Kevin, tighten and he turns his head to leave a kiss on a proffered cheek. 

‘I’m sorry,’ he murmurs. 

‘But, you know, if laughing at my expense cheers you up… I’m also terrified your parents will hate me. I mean, not because I snagged you from a nice Mormon girl, but, you know… imagine they’re okay with all this, with you, and then they meet me and don’t like me or think I look weird and I’m not up to scratch and not good enough for you, at all.’ 

And Kevin really can’t keep in a short laugh, then, the movement shaking his shoulders and, if he reads the movement against his cheek right, making Connor grin like the Cheshire Cat. When they first met, the former missionary would never have thought his District Leader to be anything but made of Teflon, any and all negativity just sliding off him without a trace. But when he got to know him better it all turned out to be a front, Elder McKinley’s bravado sliding away to reveal Connor McKinley’s insecurities and, despite being popular among everyone, his absolute fear of people not liking him. 

Kevin always thought it was just because their little flock of Elder was such a close-knit group that Connor was afraid of someone not liking him. He never expected his boyfriend to meet his parents with anything but his usual confidence and charm. 

Then again, if he’s fully honest with himself, he never really expected Connor and his parents to meet. At all. Especially not at virtually no notice. 

‘You really are an idiot today,’ Kevin says, lacing his voice with all the affection he feels blossoming in his chest. 

Pulling back, Connor looks appropriately chastised. He shrugs, putting in far too much effort to appear nonchalant, and Kevin rolls his eyes once more but can’t suppress the smile on his face. 

‘Assuming this goes well, I can’t see how my parents would do anything but adore you,’ he continues, watching Connor as he tries to tame his hair. 

‘You’re cute, funny, and I love you, so what’s not to love?’ 

The look Kevin receives makes it clear that his partner doesn’t believe him quite fully, but there’s a small smile playing around the other man’s lip, accompanied by a faint blush coloring his cheeks. 

‘And now come on, they probably think we’re getting up to whatever in here,’ Kevin says, and instantly knows it was a bad idea. 

‘They wouldn’t be entirely wrong,’ Connor answers without delay. 

‘We _did_ get up to whatever in here earlier.’ 

‘Connor!’ 

A cheeky shrug, and Kevin looks him up and down, noting the blue-outlined bottle of, as the lettering declares, ‘Harvey Milk’ on Connor’s white shirt, and raises an eyebrow. 

‘You’re meeting my parents in a gay rights t-shirt?’ 

‘No, I’m meeting your parents in one of my all-time favourite t-shirts,’ the redhead says. 

‘It just so happens to reference tone of the biggest gay icons of our times and was also gifted to me by my immensely thoughtful boyfriend. He’s a real great guy, I bet you’d love him.’ 

He really is rolling his eyes too much today, Kevin thinks, but nevertheless leans in and steals the briefest of kisses. The former District Leader’s nervousness is endearingly obvious, by now; all that’s missing is for him to physically fidget. Kevin takes pity but, at the same time, can’t quite deny being smug about the fact that Connor is, rare as it is, visibly frazzled. Even nerves of steel crumble at times, it seems. 

‘I love you, too, you nervous dork,’ he murmurs. Letting the shared moment hang between them, he loosely grasps Connor’s hand, waiting until he loosely links their fingers before continuing to speak at his normal voice. 

‘Now come on. Your in-laws are dying to finally meet you, I guess, given they came so far and explicitly demanded your presence.’ 

Kevin doesn’t add the ‘they’re probably dying to disown me and make an example of it’ floating through his head. He doesn’t need to. Just as he reaches for the door handle, Connor squeezes his hand and whispers a barely audible ‘I’m right here by your side, my love, and I won’t go’. Swallowing against the fear suddenly lodged in his throat, Kevin squeezes back and, with a deep breath, opens the door, stepping into the living room and gently tugging Connor with him. 

‘Mom, Dad… meet Connor.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay – work on this has been going rather slow, sadly, but I think I cracked it! 
> 
> As always it is not beta-d.

While waiting for Kevin to reappear, Linda and Matthew Price have a lot of time to think. Linda uses the time to have a little look around the living room they’re standing in, looking for clues or something else she can’t quite place, all the while folding and unfolding and re-folding the letter in her hands – until Matthew steps up to her, gently taking the paper out of her hands and offering his hand to hold instead. 

They’ve spoken so much about this that, in this moment, they have run out of words. Then again, nothing they could say to each right now would feel appropriate, or even just right. Their decision is made, has been made for weeks. It was made the moment Linda opened and read the letter, for once not waiting until her husband came home, and the shock and anger and disappointment and all those other feelings crashed over her live a cresting wave. 

Kevin moving to London for college had been a surprise, sure, but he’d always been ambitious and somehow her and Matthew never questioned their son’s motives to be reaching beyond academic excellence. If anything, the almost-full ride scholarship he landed only confirmed their suspicion. This, however, this new piece information, this new _person_ , unveiled to them in line after line of Kevin’s Sunday script – don’t think she didn’t notice the care he must have taken – had been so much more than just a surprise. 

A shock, maybe. Although it wasn’t so much Kevin’s coming out, his admission of being in love with a man, but more the secrecy and hidden shame - or was it something else? - pouring off the page like water down the Niagara Falls that got her. 

She doesn’t know what to feel about it all, about this sudden, unexpected development. Still, shock feels too sudden, to harsh and violent a description, as does anger. And yet something bubbles deep inside her, a confusing, whirlwind mix of emotions and feelings and so, so many questions. 

So she looks around, in search for something, anything. It’s a nice place he – no, they have. Bigger than expected, from what she can see, with large windows flooding the living room with light, a small balcony, and sat in Central London; for a moment, Linda wonders how they came to it. But that’s a question for later. 

There are notions of Kevin, the Kevin she knew and likes to believe she still knows, everywhere. The desk in the corner is strewn with notepads and printouts, a thesaurus resting slightly haphazardly on top, besides a laptop. He’s always been a bit messy when working; it’s just his style of thinking, of processing things. His favourite glass sits on the coffee table, and Kevin’s beloved Disneyland hoodie - which they may or may not have replaced a few times – neatly hangs over the back of his desk chair. 

But she looks further, scans the few pictures. Most of them are of other people; Arnold Cunningham is in a few of them, often together with his lovely wife. There’s a group picture of their mission brothers, alongside one of the entire village; the missionaries really stick out, even after having ditched the shirt-and-tie look, but everyone wears bright, genuine smiles and it makes her smile in turn. 

Her and Matthew don’t get any further than that. 

‘Mom, Dad… meet Connor.’ 

She turns around, almost comically fast. For the first time Linda Price catches a glimpse of her son’s boyfriend, and she momentarily feels like the air has been knocked out of her lungs as emotions threaten to overwhelm her. 

She doesn’t really know what she expected, but she imagined him to be older – maybe considerably so – than Kevin, and maybe a bit shorter. It hurts to admit, but in her mind, shaped and formed by decades of doctrine, a different generation, and the deep-rooted prejudice of her part of society, she had painted a less than positive image of whoever Kevin would present.

Instead of all her worst nightmares, Linda comes faces to face with a young man about the same age as Kevin. He’s skinnier and about just as tall as her son, with a slightly mussed-up head of rich red hair and honest blue eyes. She knows his face, but can’t quite place him apart from some vague memory or the other whispering at the back of her mind. 

‘Mr and Mrs Price,’ the young man says, inclining his head. 

‘It’s nice to meet you.’

He’s definitely not British, Linda can tell that much from just one full sentence; he’s polite, though. Behind her, Matthew takes a step forward. 

‘It’s nice to me you, too, …’ 

The unfinished sentence hangs in the air for a second too long, before the young man clocks what is happening. 

‘Oh… oh, sorry, yes, sure, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Connor. Connor McKinley.’ 

Linda doesn’t miss the brief grin flitting over Kevin’s face, amused by his boyfriend’s awkwardness she assumes. It’s gone just as fast, though, making way for a half-readable expression of, much to her surprise, fear. But as she looks at them, standing close and their little fingers barely linked together, everything else comes back up. 

‘It is nice to have a face to a story,’ Linda hears herself say. 

‘But I think we really need to talk about a few things, so you should probably sit down.’

Throwing each other cautious glances, both men do as told, slowly sitting down on the cozy-looking sofa. She can’t help but notice how they keep a little distance between them, as if out of respect. Matthew, meanwhile, keeps back. 

‘I think I’ll let your mom do the talking, Kevin,’ he says. 

‘But I’ll say now that we are in agreement about anything that’s being said, before any questions arise on where I stand on this. I am fully with your mom, and unless she strays from the script,’ a tense little smile exchanged between them breaks the sentence, ‘unless she does that, which I don’t think she will, I fully agree.’ 

On the sofa, Kevin swallows audibly, while his boyfriend sits up a little straighter. Linda thinks she can see his hand twitch, as if to reach out in comfort, but it might just be a figment of her imagination.

At any rate, it’s time to start. She takes a deep breath, looking at her son and the other man he so suddenly brought into their lives. 

‘I really don’t know where to begin, Kevin,’ she says. It feels surreal, standing here like this, that fateful letter no longer in her hand but being kept safe by Matthew, her rock in even the most troubled of waters. 

Across from Linda, Kevin looks even more uncomfortable if that is possible at all. In contrast, Connor subtly raises his head the tiniest bit, as if in wait, and shifts his hand so it almost rests against Kevin’s where it limply dropped onto the sofa. 

‘But I won’t beat around the bush,’ Linda says, starting to pace a little. 

‘I’m, quite frankly, disappointed in you and, if I’m honest, a bit offended that you would write that letter. Why, Kevin? Just… why?’ 

In a flash, and with surprising fluid grace, Connor stands and squares himself up a bit in front of Linda. 

‘Mrs Price, if I may interrupt you right there,’ he starts. His voice sounds decisive; it’s not a question, Linda notices, although he remains polite. She also doesn’t miss how he takes a small step to the side, as if to slightly shield Kevin from her. 

That thought - of Kevin needing protection from his own family - hurts.

‘But if you plan on, I don’t know, denouncing Kevin as your son, cutting all ties, or just telling him, us, how wrong our lifestyle is, how we will go to hell and suffer for eternity for our sins if we don’t repent and end this relationship, and if you even just think about proposing there are therapies to cure us of something that is not just incurable but also absolutely normal, I suggest you don’t draw it out. 

‘In fact, I suggest you don’t do it at all. There is nothing wrong with us, or with this, despite what the Church might tell you. You don’t want to inflict that pain and trauma on your son, Mrs Price, believe me. Not if you love him, at least.’

He stops, briefly, to take a deep breath. Linda is half-tempted to butt in, to cut this short, but she wants to see what he has to say. Behind the young man, Kevin looks as surprised as she feels, but sits up a bit straighter. She doesn’t fail to notice how he’s less pale, too, and reaches out to briefly stroke the inside of Connor’s wrist with his thumb, running the finger down into the palm of the other man’s hand. 

‘And believe me, all that this level of praying would do is cause unnecessary hurt and sorrow. I know that from personal experience. If you have even the smallest bit of humanity, the same humanity our shared church preaches so much, in you, you’ll think again about what you are going to say or do in this meeting. We’re grappling with enough trauma as it is, there really doesn’t need to be any more added on.’ 

For a moment, everything is silent. You could hear a pin drop, Linda thinks; not even a slightly louder breath interrupts the moment while she stands there and looks at this young man in front of her. Behind Connor, Kevin looks equal parts confused, still afraid, and a tiny bit proud. 

Behind herself, Matthew clears his throat and Linda snaps back into action. 

‘Is that all? Can I continue, or do you want to say anything more?’ 

It comes out sharper than she intends it to. She doesn’t miss the answering glint in the young man’s eyes, a barely-there challenge extended to her. 

Linda never thought she’d butt heads with any of her children’s partners before properly meeting them, and yet here they are. She can’t even hold it against him, not after such a passionate, protective speech showing her more than any open declaration of love ever could. 

‘No, I think that’s it,’ he says, sitting down next to Kevin as the unspoken challenge hangs in the air. They’re a bit closer now, but still not touching, as if there’s something holding them back.

It takes a second until Linda realises it’s her and Matthew’s presence, but when the penny drops, a pang of hurt hits her. 

‘Thank you, Connor,’ she says. 

‘Although I certainly would have appreciated the opportunity to make my entire point, instead of just the prologue, before being interrupted, I want to say thank you for such a passionate, eloquent speech.’ 

Confusion writes itself all over Kevin’s face, bleeding into Connor’s features almost seamlessly. They exchange a quick glance, before Kevin lowers his gaze. His partner, though, looks straight ahead as if gauging Linda’s next move. 

‘Kevin, I’m not disappointed you have a boyfriend,’ she continues, making an effort to soften her voice to the comforting tone she normally uses when one of her kids is sick. 

‘I’m not disappointed in you coming out, at all, either. But sweetheart, why did you think you couldn’t tell us?’ 

Almost comically fast, Kevin’s head snaps up and he fixes his parents with a disbelieving stare. His confusion, it seems, simply jumped over to Connor’s face, who visibly catches himself to be once again his proper-looking self. 

‘Wait, what? You guys are not… mad?’ 

‘Well,’ Linda hears herself say, as her body moves on its own volition to be closer to her child. 

‘I’m a bit angry about some things, but I’m not angry with you for being gay.’ 

‘Bisexual,’ Kevin – and Connor – corrects her, gently but decidedly. 

‘Okay, I’m not angry you’re bisexual. Sorry for getting it messed up,’ she says, perching herself on the armrest. 

‘I’m sad, and disappointed, you didn’t feel you could tell us to our face. I’m angry you effectively went behind our back for three years, yes, and that you kept your boyfriend secret for even longer and repeatedly lied to our faces. 

‘Kevin, you’re my son. I could never be angry at you for just… loving a person. Even if he’s a man. Even if it took, and probably will still take, us a bit of time to come to terms with that. Which parents could do that to their child, and still consider themselves good human beings?’ 

And that’s when Kevin loses it. Unable to hold back a few tears of her own, Linda embraces her crying son and presses a kiss to his cheek. As she strokes his back she bumps into another hand; looking up, Linda catches sight of a pair of blue eyes. Just as quickly as he drew back his fingers, Connor looks away, as if caught out. 

Linda sends him a smile, probably slightly watery, without knowing whether it registers. What she does know, however, is how sad and hurt and at the same time relieved he looked. 

The young man slowly gets up. Kevin’s reaction is instant – he reaches out, catching Connors hand while drawing back from Linda to look up at his partner with tear-stained cheeks. 

‘I’m just going to do the dishes,’ Connor answers the unspoken question, his voice quiet. 

‘Don’t worry, I won’t leave. But I think this might be a conversation I shouldn’t necessarily be privy to. You have a lot to talk about, and I don’t want to intrude; so take your time. I’m right here, okay?’ 

Ruffling Kevin’s hair with his other hand and smirking at the indignant ‘hey!’, he loosens their fingers and makes for the kitchen. 

As if on cue, Kevin turns back to his mother. And then he lets out the deepest sight Linda ever heard from him. 

‘Thank you, mom. And dad,’ he says, looking over at Matthew who’s smiling faintly. 

‘But…’ 

‘No buts,’ she says, gently interrupting her son. 

‘I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy when I first read that letter, and it wasn’t easy for the first few days after. Your dad and I were really hurt when we found out Jack knew, that you had roped him in on your secret – and yes, we were angry that you have been going out with someone for three years, without telling us.’ 

‘About that,’ Kevin says, slowly scratching his neck. 

‘I’m not sure what makes you think it’s been three years, but, uhm… it’s been more like four and a half?’ 

Linda raises her eyebrows. Kevin has been back from his mission for just about four years.   
‘But that means…?’ 

Leaving the question open ended, she looks at Kevin imploringly, daring him to say what she thinks – because there are only two options here, really, and she doesn’t know what she thinks of either of them. 

Across from her, Kevin fidgets slightly, looking towards what Linda assumes is the kitchen door. 

‘We… kinda got together in Uganda?’ 

‘Kevin!’ 

It comes out a lot more scandalized than Linda willed it to, but she can’t hold it back. The kitchen, from which a quiet soundtrack of splashing water and the occasional clirring crockery has been illustrating the scene, goes suspiciously quiet for a second. Linda doesn’t have to be physically there to know Connor probably stopped in his tracks to see whether an intervention is needed.

‘That could’ve meant certain death! In a country like Uganda,’ she continues. 

‘Not just that, with your mission brother as well? That’s… I don’t want to call it wrong, but bold. That’s very bold, especially for you. Just think of what could’ve gone wrong! How would you have explained that one? That was stupid, Kevin, really stupid.’ 

Deep down, however, she can’t deny being secretly pleased with the fact that Connor seems to be Mormon as well. 

‘Uhm, mom,’ Kevin says, a funny look on his face. 

‘Connor was also my, um, District Leader…? I mean, you’ve seen him, right? Wasn’t there his picture somewhere in that introductory thing?’ 

Just like that, everything slots into place. Of course Linda has seen Connor before. It all made sense now, that faint whisper at the back of her mind. How could she ever forget that face, the face she looked at so much in the first days Kevin was off to Uganda? The hours she spent wondering how this fresh-faced young man, barely an adult himself, barely older than her son, was supposed to keep a whole group of missionaries safe. Of course, the picture had been black and white, and a bit grainy too; so she hadn’t seen the flaming red hair, or the blue eyes, or how pale he really was, but still. How could she have forgotten the person she put so much trust in? 

‘Kevin!!’ 

This one is just as scandalised as Linda feels. Surprisingly it’s not even the fact that they were, essentially, in a relationship influenced by a power balance. The ‘potentially risking their life for love’, like two lovesick teenagers (which Linda reminds herself they actually were, at that point), aspect, however… . 

This time Connor’s head does pop out of the kitchen, one eyebrow raised as he looks at Kevin. It very clearly is a way of asking ‘what have you done now?’. It doesn’t escape Linda how tense he looks, or how he just starts to roll his eyes when Kevin shrugs innocently. 

‘You two have so much explaining to do,’ she says, alternating her gaze between the two men, both of whom look appropriately chastised and, in Connor’s case, mildly uncomfortable. Matthew hums. 

‘And this better be good.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus concludes chapter two! 
> 
> Honestly, when I started, I wanted to keep it short, but as the last line probably suggests, there will be one more chapter (two, if I'm feeling overindulgent). I want to tie it up neatly, and this felt like a good place to break it up. 
> 
> Like the first chapter, it was a bit of a matter of 'if I don't do it now, I won't ever do it' – so there is the very slight chance of it being a bit rewritten, but I'd flag that up if it happens. I'd like to give Kevin's dad a bit more speech, but somehow it felt forced. But he will have his moment! In fact, I have that moment all written out already, and I think it's quite sweet. :) 
> 
> So please, do let me know what you think! All your feedback is so so so appreciated, you wouldn't believe it. You really make my day.

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to split this, partly because I think it works well at this point and partly because I wanted to get part one out there. Chapter two will be up ASAP, but I'm still in the editing phase and there are bits I don't like...


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